The Complete Work of Michelangelo — Reynal & Co. Folio, c. 1964 First US Edition

A monumental folio edition of The Complete Work of Michelangelo, published by Reynal & Company in association with William Morrow & Company, New York, and printed in Italy. This is the first American release of the landmark Italian scholarly compendium originally produced by Istituto Geografico De Agostini, Novara — brought to the US market in the same oversized format and printed in Italy to preserve the full fidelity of the gravure plates. The colophon's use of the pre-ZIP-code postal zone address ("New York 16, N.Y.") dates this copy to approximately 1964, consistent with the known first US printing. The dust jacket reproduces details from the Sistine Chapel ceiling — the commanding figure of God from the Creation of the Sun, Moon and Plants panel on the front, a second Creation scene on the rear — wrapped around a sturdy hardcover binding.

The volume runs 600 pages and contains 1,040 gravure illustrations and 32 full-color plates, covering the full range of Michelangelo Buonarroti's output: the Sistine ceiling, the Last Judgment, the Medici Chapel sculptures, the architectural work on St. Peter's, and the complete drawings. Reynal issued it alongside a companion Leonardo da Vinci volume (1,609 gravure plates, 522 pages) as a matched pair of definitive reference editions. At fifteen inches tall and nearly three inches thick, this is a coffee-table reference in the older and better sense — built to be read at a desk, consulted seriously, and passed on.

CONDITION

Good. Dust jacket shows wear and tear consistent with age, with tape repair at the top edge and chipping along the bottom edge and corners. Boards and binding beneath the jacket are sound. Interior pages not inspected page-by-page; no loose signatures or obvious damage noted at the block.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 15" H × 11.5" W × 2.75" D
• Publisher: Reynal & Company / William Morrow & Company, New York
• Origin publisher: Istituto Geografico De Agostini, Novara, Italy
• Printed in Italy
• Edition: First US printing, c. 1964
• 600 pages
• 1,040 gravure illustrations
• 32 full-color plates
• Format: Hardcover with dust jacket